>Why is my wheat bread always heavy and a little touch? Even adding gluten,
>its is heavy and tough. Also, what causes yeast bread to rise and then fall
>when touched on the second rising. Most often I use machine to mix and knead
>(dough setting) .Then I make loaves usually small round loaves, and let them
>rise about an hour at room temp. Sometimes they rise and fall or rise too
>much and if I touch them they collapse. Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
> Help
>
>betty hodge
>bettyho65@aol.com
>
It sounds to me like you are using the wrong flour. Much of the whole wheat
flour found in grocery stores is milled from soft wheat, which is best for
making pancakes, muffins and quick breads and not enough gluten for yeast
breads. Ideally you would be using a whole wheat flour milled from hard
winter wheat, which has the right amount and quality of gluten for bread
baking. However, most of the whole wheat flours sold for bread baking are
milled from spring wheat, which has, if anything, too much gluten, and tends
to produce a very high rising bread with a slightly rubbery texture.
There are several ways to figure out what kind of wheat went into your
flour. The clearest is to tease it out of the nutritional information.
Whole wheat flour milled from soft wheat will have about 3 grams protein per
30 gram serving (this is good for cakes, cookies, quick breads and breakfast
items). Whole wheat flour milled from spring wheat will have about 5 grams
protein per 30 gram serving (this is best for mixing into weaker flours to
bolster strength). Whole wheat flour milled from hard winter wheat will
have about 4 grams protein per 30 gram serving (this is best for all bread
baking).
Another way to figure out what kind of whole wheat flour you have is to look
at the recipes on the bag. If most are for quick breads, cookies and such,
you probably have a soft wheat. If the recipes are for yeast breads, you
are a little closer to your goal.
The collapsing you are describing is from a lack of strength. Considering
that you are kneading in a machine, which does a really thorough job, I
think that the flour is your problem.
Best, Maggie Glezer